I think you have the right plan. For what it is worth, I usually don't have Achilles problems in a race. Nothing like a 112 miles on the bike to warm them up a bit.

Good luck on Sunday.

Yup, just about right. Remember, there is NO TRAINING you can do to improve your race performance this week. But you CAN botch it up.

And remember as well, while racing, that life will go on long after this particular race. Don't forfeit your future for one day's effort. Achilles injuries are particularly nasty to come back from if you do any real damage.

Along with following your current treatment, I've had success with a night splint.

hope your problem gets solved fast...after france, I pushed a bit more and mine is partially torn...I had to drop Canada.
Will go to FL instead.

Ouch! Sorry to hear that Francois. Damn type-A personality strikes again! Rest easy!

not sure if it's type A thing...but is there somewhere on the web where you can buy luck?

I had achilles problems just running to get in shape for rugby, and they can be miserable. There are no quick fixes, just rest, ice and anti-inflammatories, which take a while. Make sure you do this after your race.

I don't have any IM experienced advice for you. I have also sometimes had trouble finishing marathons after just driving and walking to the start line instead of swimming 2.4 and biking 112 to get there. With these caveats, the idea that you can't get in any better shape now, but can mess youself now, is consistent with everything I have read and everything I have experienced at much less challenging races.

Good luck with resting up and your race.

I'm a BIG fan of ice, for almost any ailment. BUT, you may be better served here by alternating ice and heat...always ending with ice. The theory is: tendons don't have great blood flow compared to muscles, and more blood flow allows more nutrients/white blood cells to be shuttled to the injury site, allowing quicker healing. The last Ice therapy I'd use after a hot/cold session like this is to keep the ice on for at least 45 minutes. I'm assuming you aren't diabetic, and that you have something between the ice and the skin to keep from getting frostbite.

You could also try ice massage...always stroking the achilles from the heel to the calf.

If you have access to someone with knowledge in ultrasound treatments, this may be appropriate, too.

In the meantime, put a small lift in any shoe you wear, and don't walk around barefooted...at all...until you have gotten over this acute episode. You may want to consider putting a small rubber one under your insole in your running shoe, too.

Don't mask the pain on race day with any kind of drugs...you want to know if you're hurting yourself before it develops into something that can haunt you for a long time. I hope you heal quickly!

---

Quid quid latine dictum sit altum videtur
(That which is said in Latin sounds profound)

Adam, that company chopat that makes the famous knee bands, also makes an achilles brace/strap. If it works half as well as the knee band I would give it a try.

How about pool running ? You could keep your fitness that way. I use ice . It helped lots.

Good luck next Sunday.
Thom

Haven't tried the cho-pat strap but they make good pruducts. I've had success with taping the achilles but it's tricky. If you're really hard up I've heard of cortesone injections for the achilles. I'm NOT reccomending this but I've heard of it.

I've been following the advice on Gordo's tips and it have helped a lot. Check it out.

http://www.byrn.org/gtips/at_treat.htm

http://www.nismat.org/.../eccentric_achilles/

---

---

"your horse is too high" - tigerchik

 
Has no one mentioned massage yet? Most likely, your soleus and/or gastroc are contracted and irritating the AT. Warm the muscles gently, then look for the spasms & tender spots and work them out with as much pain as you can tolerate with moderate discomfort.

Gently stretch. Apply arnica gel, available at most natural health food/drug stores. Ice. Sleep with the legs elevated.

Frequency is key - massage & stretch whenever and wherever possible. My co-workers will often catch me with my knee, thumb, knuckle, a stick, heck even my nalgene bottle up against my sore calves!

EDIT: missed your post on ice-massage YC... props to you.

---

-----------------------
Proud member of Team Tooth Pick (TTP): like a leaf in the wind.

A PT friend of mine recommended that I try 'Kinesio taping.' She did it this morning. I'll let you know. A few other PT's claimed it worked wonders. There is no real downside, except I had to shave my leg. (My wife doesn't like the shaved look.)

(My DSL was down over the weekend, so I haven't had a chance to look it up.)

Mine is really tweaked from continuing to race on Saaturday after it already started to hurt.

---

_________________
Dick

Take everything I say with a grain of salt. I know nothing.

I fought achilles problems for a long time when I was just running.

I found a thick rubber pad (1/4' to 3/8') that was egg shaped that had a hole in the middle and it had adhesive on the back. I would put the hole over the sore area an it would help alleviate some of the stress.. I bought a bag through a sports medicine clinic. In college, the training room had similiar devices but the were less sturdy made of cotton or something.

Otherwise, several of the other sugestions in concert might work well, namely: ice, night splint, stretching...however, very gentle. Aggressive stretching can hurt as well.

Oh yeah, lots O' drugs.

Good luck.